Al Goldstein is the co-founder and CEO of Avant, an online marketplace lending platform that is changing the way consumers obtain credit by lowering the costs and barriers of borrowing. By utilizing advanced algorithms and machine-learning capabilities, Avant offers a unique and highly customized approach to the personal loan process.

At its core, Avant is a tech company that is dedicated to creating innovative and practical financial products for all consumers. Avant has secured more than $1.4 billion in funding to date and more than 300,000 loans have been issued through the Avant platform. Avant has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, TechCrunch, Fortune, Bloomberg and Crain’s Chicago Business and Avant was named to Forbes America's Most Promising Companies list for 2015 as well as Forbes Next Billion Dollar Startups list for 2015.

Prior to Avant, Al co-founded Pangea Properties, a private REIT invested in distressed and value-add multi-family properties in the Chicago, Indianapolis and Baltimore markets. Al was co-founder, President and CEO of CashNetUSA, now Enova International, from 2004 until 2008, after selling to Cash America International in 2006. Prior to that, he was part of Deutsche Bank’s Leveraged Finance practice in New York and worked on various secured and unsecured leveraged debt transactions. Al is also an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and spends time mentoring young entrepreneurs. He received a Bachelor of Science in Finance with a Mathematics Minor from the University of Illinois where he graduated with High Honors and is a CFA charter holder.